Roll-film drier.



No. 655,662. Patented Aug. 7, I900.

. C. W. H. SMITHERS.

ROLL FILM DRIER.

(Application filed Nov. 13, 1899.)

(No. Model.

NITED STATES PATENT CHARLES W. H. SMITHERS, OF FOND DU LAO, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ANTHONY A. KELLY, OF SAME PLACE.

ROLL-FILM DRIER;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,662, dated August 7, 1900.

Application filed November 13, 1899. Serial No. 736,851. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. H. SMITH- ERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fond du Lac, in the county of Fond du .Lac and State of Wisconsin, have invented which it appertains to make and use the same.

One of the chief aims in photography is to obviate handling the negatives as much as possible after exposure and during the developing, fixing, toning, suppling, and drying operations, as thereby the best results possible are obtained.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying roll-films after treatment in the proper baths for developing, fixing, &c., the apparatus embodying a rotary rack or reel of novel construction and capable of dismemberment for storing in small compass and readily set up when required for use.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof, and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result, reference is to be had to the following description and the drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are necessarily susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a filmrack as. it appears when in operation. Fig. 2 is a sectional detail of the hub portion of the rack, showing the adjunctive parts. Fig. 3 is a front view of the grooved member or part of the sectional hub.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In its simplest construction the frame of the machine comprises an upright or standard 1 and a base 2, the latter being a stand or convenient support for the part 1. A reel or rack 3 is journaled to the standard 1, so as to rotate in a vertical plane, and is secured to one end of a shaft 4, adapted to be driven in any convenient way.

The rack 3 consists of arms 5, havingtheir outer ends 6 bent at right angles and clothed to prevent injurious contact with the film, the covering being preferably short lengths of rubber tubing 7, and a sectional hub composed of parts 8 and 9. The part 8 has grooves or seats 10 in its inner face to receive the inner flattened ends of the arms 5. These seats extend radially, and their inner ends terminate short of the shaft-opening of the hub, whereby the annular portion 12, intervening between the said opening and the inner ends of the seats 10, constitutes a stop to limit the inward movement of the arms 5 and contact thereof with the shaft 4. The outer corner of the part 8is rounded. The part 9 is aplate and closes the open sides of the seats 10 to clamp the wires therein.

The shaft 4 is journaled to the standard 1 in any manner to prevent longitudinal play, and a pulley 13 is secured to the end opposite that carrying the rack, the standard 1 being located between the rack and pulley. The outer end of the shaft is threaded and receives a clamp-nut 14 of the winged type to be operated by hand and is formed with a shoulder 15, between which and the nut 14 the parts of the hub are clamped. Upon loosening the nut 14 the arms 5 can be removed or placed in position, as desired. A hand-wheel 16 is mounted upon a stub-shaft applied to the standard 1 and is connected by a belt 17 with the pulley 13. Obviously any form of gearing may be resorted to for operating the shaft and the rack applied thereto.

The roll-film 18, after the pictures have been developed, fixed, and the like, is placed upon the horizontal extensions 6 of the arms 5, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the rack is rotated until the film is thoroughly dried, the opera tion being hastened by rotating the rack at a moderately-high speed, which drives off the moisture by centrifugalaction. The ends of the film are secured together in any conven= ient way, as by pinning, and are passed be= tween companion grippers 19 and 20, which are clothed in a manner similar to the bent ends 6 of the arms 5. One of the arms is split or composed of spring members 22 and 23,

Whose outer ends are bent to provide the grippers 19 and 20. A link 21 is slidably mounted upon the members 22 and 23 and serves to draw the grippers 19 and together and cause them to grip the ends of the roll-film 18.

By having the ends 11 of the arms 5 fiattened said arms are prevented from turning and can be securely held, and by having said arms movably attached to the hub they may be replaced by others of dilferent length when it is required to increase or diminish the diameter of the rack, and the latter can be packed in a small space when not required for immediate service.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. A roll-film drier for photographers comprisinga rotary rack having arms formed with offset portions to receive the film, companion members constituting one of the arms and having their outer end portions bent to provide grippers, and means for drawing the grippers together, substantially as set forth.

2. In a roll-film drier for photographers, a

shaft having its outer end portion threaded and provided with a shoulder a short distance from the threaded part, a hub composed of coaXially-pierced sections mounted upon the shaft and having radial seats in their meeting faces, film-supporting arms having their inner ends fitted in the said seats, and a clampscrewmounted upon the threaded end of the shaft and adapted to clamp the sections of the hub between it and the aforesaid shoulder and secure the arms in their seats, substantially as described.

3. A roll-film drier for photographers com prising a standard, a shaft', operating mechanism applied to the shaft, a sectional hub composed of a plate and a radially-grooved part, arms having their inner ends flattened and removably fitted to the said grooved part and having their outer ends bent at a right angle and clothed, one of the arms composed of spring members having bent portions at their outer end to form grippers, means for drawing the grippers together, and a clamp nut for drawing the parts of the hub together and clamping the arms between them, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. ll. SMI'IIIERS. [L. s] Witnesses:

' WM. OAKEY,

ED. L. MALONEY. 

